Jerry Barbosa

As Interviewed by Jordan Birnbaum, March 19, 2018

"And being a foreigner, you have to work twice as hard to succeed."

Introductory Profile: About Jerry Barbosa

Dr. Jerry Barbosa MD is a retired Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist who was born and raised in the amazonian region of Bolivia, a generally poor country in South America. He came to America when he was 29 years old to continue his studies after finishing medical school in Spain. Here, he was able to experience the education of multiple universities before settling down in St. Petersburg, Florida to work at the All Children’s Hospital and starting a family with his wife, Carol Barbosa. I am Dr. Barbosa’s granddaughter and grew up listening to his stories about his experiences both in Bolivia and in America as a doctor who worked with many child cancer patients throughout his many years in the medical field. He speaks with a heavy Bolivian accent but is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

I spoke to Dr. Barbosa about his experience as an immigrant and how it fit in with his life as a medical student and doctor. The conversation was very relaxed but immersive. In his opinion, America is an extremely advanced and educated country, and it felt only natural to desire to pursue his dreams in such a place. At the time, it was much easier to immigrate to the U.S., but he does feel as though many of the precautions taken today are necessary to keep this country safe. However, Jerry does not agree with discrimination of any sort towards immigrants, especially because he has experienced it numerous times. Aside from this, however, America has been a very good country to him, and a place of opportunity, which he will always be grateful for.